Editing Great Western Railway (section)

==Motive power and rolling stock==

===Locomotives===
{{Main|Locomotives of the Great Western Railway}}

[[File:GWR Hirondelle.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A black and white image showing a steam locomotive facing to the right. The low tender on the left has six wheels; the engine itself has a large wheel in the middle with two wheels in front and one behind.|Broad gauge [[GWR Iron Duke class|Iron Duke class]] locomotive ''Hirondelle'', built in 1848]]

The GWR's first locomotives were specified by [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] but proved unsatisfactory. Daniel Gooch, who was just 20 years old, was soon appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent and set about establishing a reliable fleet. He bought [[GWR Star Class|two locomotives]] from [[Robert Stephenson and Company]] which proved more successful than Brunel's, and then designed a series of standardised locomotives. From 1846 these could be built at the company's newly established [[Swindon railway works|railway workshops at Swindon]]. He designed several different {{RailGauge|7ft}} [[broad-gauge]] types for the growing railway, such as the [[GWR Firefly Class|Firefly]] [[2-2-2]]s and later [[GWR Iron Duke Class|Iron Duke Class]] [[4-2-2]]s. In 1864 Gooch was succeeded by [[Joseph Armstrong (engineer)|Joseph Armstrong]] who brought his [[standard-gauge]] experience to the railway. Some of Armstrong's designs were built as either broad or standard gauge just by fitting different wheels; those needing tenders were given old ones from withdrawn broad-gauge locomotives.{{sfn|Sheppard|2008|pages=9–11}}

Joseph Armstrong's early death in 1877 meant that the next phase of motive power design was the responsibility of [[William Dean (engineer)|William Dean]] who developed express [[4-4-0]] types rather than the single-driver [[2-2-2]]s and [[4-2-2]]s that had hauled fast trains up to that time.<ref name=Intro>{{cite magazine | last = Carver | first = John | title = An Introduction to the Great Western Railway |magazine=The Railway Magazine | volume = 151 | issue = 1256 | pages = 8–14  | publisher = IPC Media Ltd |date=December 2005}}</ref> Dean retired in 1902 to be replaced by [[George Jackson Churchward]], who introduced the familiar [[4-6-0]] locomotives. It was during Churchward's tenure that the term "Locomotive Superintendent" was changed to "Chief Mechanical Engineer" (CME).<ref name=Churchward>{{cite magazine | last = Hill | first = Keith | title = A Colossus of Steam |magazine=The Railway Magazine | volume = 151 | issue = 1256 | pages = 16–20  | publisher = IPC Media Ltd |date=December 2005}}</ref> [[Charles Collett]] succeeded Churchward in 1921. He was soon responsible for the much larger fleet that the GWR operated following the [[Railways Act 1921]] mergers. He set about replacing the older and less numerous classes, and rebuilding the remainder using as many standardised GWR components as possible. He also produced many new designs using standard parts, such as the [[GWR 4073 Class|Castle]] and [[GWR 6000 Class|King]] classes.<ref>{{cite book |last= Chapman |first= W G |title= Loco's of "The Royal Road" |year=1936 |publisher= Great Western Railway |location= London | pages=119–144 }}</ref> The final CME was [[Frederick Hawksworth]] who took control in 1941, seeing the railway through wartime shortages and producing GWR-design locomotives until after nationalisation.<ref name=Intro/>

Brunel and Gooch both gave their locomotives names to identify them, but the standard-gauge companies that became a part of the GWR used numbers. Until 1864 the GWR therefore had [[List of 7-foot gauge railway locomotive names|named broad-gauge locomotives]] and numbered standard-gauge ones. From the time of Armstrong's arrival all new locomotives&nbsp;– both broad and standard&nbsp;– were given numbers, including broad-gauge ones that had previously carried names when they were acquired from other railways.{{sfn|Sheppard|2008|pages=9–11}} Dean introduced a policy in 1895 of giving passenger [[Tender (rail)|tender]] locomotives both numbers and names. Each batch was given names with a distinctive theme, for example kings for the [[GWR 6000 Class|6000 class]] and castles for the [[GWR 4073 Class|4073 class]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Chapman |first= WG |title= GWR Engines |edition= 14th |year= 1938 |publisher= Great Western Railway |location= London | pages=9–18 }}</ref>

The GWR first painted its locomotives a dark [[holly]] green but this was changed to middle chrome or [[Brunswick green]] for most of its existence. They initially had chocolate brown or Indian red frames but this was changed in the twentieth century to black. Name and number plates were generally of polished brass with a black background, and chimneys often had copper rims or "caps".<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first= John |title= Great Western Way |edition= 2nd |orig-year= Slinn, 1978 |year= 2009 |pages=14–62 |publisher= Historical Model Railway Society |location= Butterley |isbn= 978-0-902835-27-6|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

'''Liveries through the years:'''
<gallery>
File:Iron Duke tender painting detail.jpg|''[[GWR Iron Duke Class|Iron Duke]]'''s tender: Holly green with pea green lining
File:GWR 3440 City of Truro - geograph.org.uk - 1479746.jpg|''[[GWR 3440 City of Truro|City of Truro]]'': Middle Chrome green, orange lining and red frames
File:5029 Nunney Castle Didcot old slide.jpg|''[[GWR 4073 Class|Nunney Castle]]'': Middle Chrome green, orange lining and black frames
File:Willtion 3850 token exchange.jpg|[[GWR 2884 Class|3850]]: Middle Chrome green, black frames but no lining
</gallery>

===Carriages===
{{Main|Coaches of the Great Western Railway}}
[[File:GWR coach E164 BCK 7377.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A long coach with domed roof ends. The roof is pale grey and ends black. The body has brown lower parts but cream above around the windows.|A coach in the chocolate and cream livery used from 1922]]
GWR passenger coaches were many and varied, ranging from four- and six-wheeled vehicles on the original [[broad-gauge]] line of 1838, through to [[bogie]] coaches up to {{convert|70|ft|m}} long which were in service through to 1947 and beyond. Vacuum brakes, bogies and [[Corridor connection|through-corridors]] all came into use during the nineteenth century, and in 1900 the first electrically lit coaches were put into service. The 1920s saw some vehicles fitted with automatic [[Railway coupling|couplings]] and steel bodies.{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 16}}{{sfn|Harris|1985|pages=21–37}}

Early vehicles were built by a number of independent companies, but in 1844 the railway started to build carriages at [[Swindon railway works]], which eventually provided most of the railway's [[rolling stock]]. Special vehicles included [[sleeping car]]s, [[restaurant car]]s and [[slip coach]]es.{{sfn|MacDermot|1931|at=Chapter 16}} Passengers were also carried in [[GWR steam rail motors|railmotors]],<ref name=SRM>{{cite book | last =Lewis | first =John | title =Great Western Steam Railmotors: and their services | publisher =Wild Swan Publications Ltd | year =2004 | isbn = 1-874103-96-8}}</ref> [[GWR Autotrain|autotrains]],<ref name=Auto/> and [[GWR railcars|diesel railcars]].<ref name=Railcars>{{cite book |last= Judge |first= Colin |title= The history of Great Western A.E.C. diesel railcars |orig-year= Oxford Publishing Company, 1986 |year= 2008 |publisher= Noodle Books |location= Southampton |isbn= 978-1-906419-11-0 }}</ref> Passenger-rated vans carried parcels, horses, and milk at express speeds.{{sfn|Lewis|2009|pages=100–113}} Representative examples of these carriages survive in service today on various [[Heritage railway]]s up and down the country.

Most coaches were generally painted in variations of a chocolate-brown and cream livery, however they were plain brown or red until 1864 and from 1908 to 1922.{{sfn|Lewis|2009|pages=63–99}} Parcels vans and similar vehicles were seldom painted in the two-colour livery, being plain brown or red instead, which caused them to be known as "brown vehicles".{{sfn|Lewis|2009|pages=100–113}}

===Wagons===
{{Main|Great Western Railway wagons}}
[[File:GWR wagon G31 MOGO 126359.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A short goods van built from planks of wood. The sides are mid-grey with a large white G to the left of the doors and a large white W to the right.|A GWR goods van in the grey livery used from about 1904. This one has end doors to allow motor cars to be loaded.]]
In the early years of the GWR its wagons were painted brown,<ref>{{cite journal| last = Jolly| first = Mike| title = Carriage and Waggon Livery c1855| journal = Broadsheet| issue = 6| pages = 5–7| publisher = Broad Gauge Society| year = 1981}}</ref> but this changed to red before the end of the [[broad gauge]]. The familiar dark grey livery was introduced about 1904.<ref>{{cite journal| last = Lewis| first = John| title = The Colour of GWR Goods Wagons| journal = Broadsheet| issue = 45| pages = 4–5| publisher = Broad Gauge Society| year = 2001}}</ref>

Most early wagons were four-wheeled open vehicles, although a few six-wheeled vehicles were provided for special loads. Covered vans followed, initially for carrying cattle but later for both general and vulnerable goods too. The first [[bogie]] wagons appeared in 1873 for heavy loads, but bogie coal wagons were built in 1904 following on from the large four-wheel coal wagons that had first appeared in 1898. Rated at 20&nbsp;[[long ton|tons]] (20.3&nbsp;tonnes) these were twice the size of typical wagons of the period, but it was not until 1923 that the company invested heavily in coal wagons of this size and the infrastructure necessary for their unloading at their docks; these were known as "[[Felix Pole]]" wagons after the GWR's general manager who promoted their use. Container wagons appeared in 1931 and special vans for motor cars in 1933.{{sfn|Atkins |1975|pages=24–33}}

When the GWR was opened no trains in the United Kingdom were fitted with [[vacuum brake]]s, instead handbrakes were fitted to individual wagons and trains also conveyed [[brake van]]s where a guard had control of a screw-operated brake. The first goods wagons to be fitted with vacuum brakes were those that ran in passenger trains carrying perishable goods such as fish. Some ballast hoppers were given vacuum brakes in December 1903, and general goods wagons were constructed with them from 1904 onwards, although unfitted wagons (those without vacuum brakes) still formed the majority of the fleet in 1948 when the railway was [[Nationalisation|nationalised]] to become a part of [[British Railways]].{{sfn|Atkins |1975|pages=67–80}}

All wagons for public traffic had a [[Great Western Railway telegraphic codes|code name]] that was used in [[Telegram style|telegraphic]] messages. As this was usually painted onto the wagon it was common to see them referred to by these names, such as "Mink" (a van), "Mica" (refrigerated van), "Crocodile" (boiler truck), and "Toad" ([[brake van]]).{{sfn|Lewis |2009|pages=A17–A18}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/stockcode.htm|title=Code Names for Great Western Carriage Stock and Vans|work=greatwestern.org.uk}}</ref>